Pisces Confidential (for Sun and ascendant)

By Eric Francis

For many years, but particularly the past two years, your life has been dominated by outer-planet transits: the Gods of Change. I am speaking mostly of the long trek of Uranus in your sign, which is thankfully something we only go through once in a lifetime. This has been the eminently restless energy of the past seven years, that sense of being on the edge, all the time.

To make matters especially interesting, Saturn has been in your opposite sign for the past two years, presenting you with a stabilizing factor in your environment: it might be a job or a relationship or a commitment of some kind, but it’s held your feet on the ground the past two years, and not without tension. We humans have this delicate relationship with gravity. We depend on it, but we constantly want to defy it.

Uranus is good for that. It’s energy is forward thinking and comes on fast, and in bursts, and can have rapid, even revolutionary effects. Saturn brings focus, discipline and rigor: this has not been easy. It’s been challenging to remain stable during transits like these; I trust you have learned something about maintaining stability no matter how weird things get, and at the same time, the potential offered by real change.

Before that, you had some Pluto in your life. Through the late 1990s and up ’til 2008, Pluto was in Sagittarius, a mutable sign like yours, burning across your Sagittarius angle: your reputation, career and sense of mission. I could not think of a transit less like the nature of Pisces than a fiery Pluto transit across this house. Pisces is introverted. That was anything but introverted, compelling you to be out in the world, part of the world, and in a sense to shape the world, no matter how you felt on any given day.

Uranus was a bit like this too, constantly pushing you out of any shell, rock cave or comfort zone you thought you could hide out in. Suddenly we find ourselves with Uranus transiting out of Pisces into Aries (a process that will last for a year, beginning in June). Along with Pluto, the gods of change have moved off of the mutable cross (where they affect you the most) and onto the cardinal cross, where (as we are seeing) they can take up their work with the entire planet.

But Jupiter is still involved. Jupiter will be in Pisces for most of the transition, with another year of spectacular aspects that will keep you on your feet. It’s incredible, really: and my job in this reading is to help you ground this energy, and make the most of it. So, turn on your brain, spark up your intuition and let’s do some astrology.

Pluto in Capricorn: The World Moves Over For You

As a Pisces, you are used to adapting to the world. This is not to say that you lack influence; you have more than you think. But what you are not as accustomed to is the world adapting to you and your desires, needs and intentions. I will cover another aspect of this in greater detail in the Mars retrograde section, though there is a potent message coming from Pluto in Capricorn, your solar 11th house. Consider this theme running in the background of everything else I write about in this report.

Pluto in Sagittarius was here to teach you how to create and hold a vision for your life and for your work. You have likely learned more about this than you think. Pluto in Capricorn is here to give you some traction in the world. That is, to teach you that the world is malleable and subject to your energy, your concepts and your design scheme. The world changes, and you are in a rare position to benefit from those changes. Indeed, the world, despite the resistance that it seems to put up, bends far more easily than we imagine, if we know how to align our desires with our choices and our actions.

Imagine the seemingly solid substance of Capricorn, which can manifest as structure, or as concepts with their history in the past, bending and even crumbling under the influence of Pluto’s presence. While Pluto is certainly disruptive in this sign, stressing out nearly every system you can name and lots that you cannot name, the energy is distinctly rejuvenating. Therefore, stick to what is new; focus on what you want to create and allow Pluto to get everything, and to a real extent everyone else, out of the way. This includes people who have ‘institutionalized’ themselves in your life — but whose presence has only served to slow you down.

Most important, you need to constantly renew your vision; to work with current editions of your hopes and dreams; and to never, ever believe that someone has authority over your plans and your ideas. You are that authority.

Out of the Hidden World

While there’s been no shortage of spectacular events involving Pisces planets Jupiter and Neptune, this has been happening in Aquarius — your 12th solar house. This is a hidden zone in your solar chart. As 2010 unfolds, the changes you’ve been creating within yourself will manifest in the visible, tangible world.

My repeated references in various horoscopes to events developing behind the scenes relate directly to this: for example, the triple conjunction of Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune that unfolded last year took place in this house. Yet the hidden realm is vitally important to Pisces: in a sense it is your home. Of all the signs, yours has the deepest connection to the parallel dimension, and the work you do there is truly potent in its ability to create psychic templates that you can then build on in the ways more often thought of as ‘reality’.

We often wonder how it is that people believe that thoughts can manifest as reality. Yet little else actually does. Think of it this way. My grandfather Jim, who was a draftsman, used to remind me that everything you see has a drawing to go with it. Without a drawing, very little comes into being: be it a paper cup, a hat, a disk drive, or a chocolate bar. Your 12th solar house is the place where you do your engineering, appropriately enough, in the sign Aquarius.

In Next World Stories, I quoted a friend named Mimi, who describes this veil as a scrim. I’ll quote her passage from last year’s annual again, as a reminder, since it sums up so much.

The 12th house is a scrim; a veil. This is not the same as the Klingon cloaking device that makes the mothership coming at us invisible, but the way that, on a stage, when one uses a scrim it makes the actors behind it, and their world of action, into the ‘other’ realm of soul, turning them into not so much unreal actors as archetypal ones. They ‘become’ their character.

In theater, masks hide the face to reveal a deeper essence. The scrim of the 12th house works/plays the same way: by revealing. This is the key to the 12th house. It is the scrim that reveals, that a scrim is necessary to see certain things, the way that people who read auras deliberately close their eyes halfway, creating a вЂscrimвЂ™ of their eyelashes and eyelid to be able to read the energetic, vibrational essence of the aura.

What’s the Aquarian drama playing behind the scrim of the 12th house? What can we only see when we “scrim” it? Is the 12th house the scrim of the 1st? Of ego as our only idea of the self, and we need a scrim to get us to see our aura, the quality of our cosmic vibration? Aquarius as new вЂ” a new aura? Vibrating at a new cosmic pulse/pattern as we approach the (infamous) 2012? Now that we are in ‘the chaos point’ is Aquarius supporting us in seeing the vibration of chaos as taking us into the future?

Aquarius and Pisces is a visionary combination, and this is where the creative process of your life has been developing: for a long time, as Neptune has been creeping through Aquarius for a full decade.

The Jupiter-Chiron-Neptune alignment in Aquarius that lasted through 2009 drew you behind the veil, into your drawing room: in the sense of withdrawing to a private space, and the ‘incorrect’ sense of drawing a design on paper. You lived behind the scenes of your own life, orchestrating your own future. This brought you into alignment with something that you may not have noticed yet, though the signs are evident. If you’ve noticed, you can trust that its initial effects have been subtle.

Aquarius represents patterns, and the 12th has an insecure quality, when viewed from the perspective of normal ego consciousness. That’s why we tend to deny its properties so often. It is not easy rewriting thought patterns or rooting out sources of deep insecurity, though that is precisely what you’ve been up to.

Neptune has held you to the task for a long time, making sure that you focus on what is so easy to overlook; making sure that you confront your sense of isolation; and that you orient your intentions and your willingness to grow on long-term objectives. There is something here about holding out faith in the impossible, or at least what has no guarantees.

Yet while you’ve been doing this, you have felt your potential growing, even as you wondered how you would ever live up to it. As Chiron and Jupiter arrived, others could see that potential, but part of you remained blind to who you were and who you could be. It’s almost like you’ve been at a fireworks display wearing a blindfold. You hear the pops in the sky and smell the smoke; all around you people are saying oooh and aaah. But it’s like: where are the colors?

Then, gradually, you started to see them with your eyes closed. You saw them within yourself by developing another sense, an inner sense that at times you may have questioned or denied. Imaginative perception is tricky that way: one can never be sure if an idea about oneself is ‘true’, or if an idea about the world is a ‘good idea’. Learning this kind of discernment is not easy. And fortunately you are still focusing this skill — even as so much else moves outside the scrim, into open view. You’ve taken significant steps toward embodying this inner sense, and even depending on it.

The hidden quality of these developments suddenly changes into something more tangible as Jupiter emerges from your solar 12th house and enters Pisces, fresh from its meetings with Chiron and Neptune. Yes, your meeting with Jupiter signifies an authentic meeting with good fortune; with expansion; with a sense of worldly adventure. Think of this as you suddenly embodying much that you’ve learned in your inner world and wanting to express it in your outer world, no longer an idea or a concept, but as an embodied experience.

Then later in the mid-spring, Chiron begins its transition out of Aquarius, spending part of the year in your sign: yet another way to say that what you have been learning and preparing for in the back rooms of your consciousness is finding its way to the front of your experience. Note that this will be Chiron’s first visit to Pisces since the 1960s. For any Pisces, this represents fully embracing the focusing power that is, in truth, the one thing that has helped you get anywhere in quite a long time; the ability to rise above the noise of the world and focus on your intentions.

So, first, a triple conjunction involving your two ruling planets. Then Jupiter entering Pisces; and then Chiron making its first visit to Pisces in two generations: big stuff, but it gets better.

The Discovery of Self-Esteem

There is something distinct about Pisces and self-esteem; let’s call it an issue. (I rarely use that word in my astrology practice.) Anyone who knows even just one Pisces native can tell you this. I would not say that Pisces lacks self-esteem: rather I would say that for many, the concept does not exist tangibly. It must be defined and discovered and developed consciously. Remember this: you cannot understand that you lack something that you don’t fully grasp; the issue would not be the lack, it would be your understanding and use of a concept.

Self-esteem is a 2nd house matter: for you this is Aries. When Uranus leaves your sign, it will end up in Aries for a few months this year; and Jupiter is going to cut clear across Pisces in about four months and end up there as well. On June 8, there will be a conjunction in your house of self-esteem.

This is a conjunction that’s going to change the world; indeed, it’s already doing so, months before it happens. For you it is personal on many accounts, representing an invention of self-awareness, identity and self-worth.

When I say invention, I mean this literally. The Uranus factor is often the creation or discovery of self-awareness and self-acceptance that did not seem to exist before. There is an economic angle: the discovery that something you’ve been doing has a monetary value that you had not noticed before then, or had not accessed before then.

It is not too early to begin this now. Practice seeing and applying the value and worth of what you do. Be a witness to the value of what you create, be it in ways large or small. Practice applying what you know. You have learned so much; putting it to use is the last and eminently necessary step for you. Note that this will be easier than it seems in your mind. Pluto in Capricorn is saying that the world is making room for you. Your concepts of community and culture are changing, though to you it may look like society is changing. Both are true, and you are at a fortunate meeting place of the two. There is just one catch: you must do the hardest thing for a Pisces, which is to maintain faith in yourself.

The action in Aries has a relative, which is Mars (the ruler of Aries) retrograde in the 6th house. Where Mars is retrograde tells us where we need to do the necessary preparation work to make that Jupiter-Uranus conjunction real.

Mars Retrograde: Work Smart, Not Hard

Contrary to the notion of Pisces as the lush, lazy slacker, astrology suggests that you radiate vitality: in particular, through your work and your drive for achievement. You have it in you to identify with your professional activities, and to shine in your chosen field. Your ability to get a job done is one of your most valuable assets; and you find your greatest stability in being productive and respected.

I know this sounds like most descriptions of Virgo, or Capricorn. Anyone who has had a Pisces boyfriend or girlfriend is potentially thinking, Gee that sounds great. Too bad it’s not true. My Pisces significant other/friend/cousin would be so much happier if that were really so; and I wouldn’t have to do the dishes all the time.

Mars is retrograde in your 6th solar house: work and wellbeing. The retrograde here is suggesting that you carefully evaluate your work patterns and more precisely, the way that you distribute and apply two things: your intention, and your energy. Mars and Leo are potent symbols of vitality, though Mars focuses the issue. That arrow points toward the thing desired. The easiest way to organize your energy is to aim for what you want; that turns out to be the easiest way to get what you want, and to accomplish what you want.

This has to do partly with how you manage your energy; and partly with how you define your purpose: both of which come back to your sense of value — mostly about yourself. In other words, when in doubt, ask if you’re worth the effort; or apply the effort and see if it changes your feeling of worth. Fortunately, this equation can work in either direction.

The energy reorganization attribute of Mars retrograde in Leo is about learning how to focus your desire in the here and now. I suggest you practice, when you remember — and practice remembering. This is the most efficient use of energy: to align with desire. Some of the more spiritually-oriented might prefer if I used the word ‘intentions’, but this to me feels like a third-degree abstraction of a simple concept: organizing your life around the outcome you want, and I do mean this in the smallest and largest ways, immediate and long-term. What is the outcome you want? Ask yourself 100 times a day if you have to.

Mars here is also suggesting that you find physical ways to vent your energy. Those can include sex, but better if they include other activities that you might not normally consider, such as martial arts; and anything that stirs up the energy in your body, works through the stagnant energy, and puts you into contact with yourself. The positive results will be obvious, and you will short-circuit many negative possibilities by having better access to your flow of energy.

This transit is reminding you that you must be in an environment where you are respected for what you do. Where one’s Sun is placed tells us a lot about where we must express our creativity and be respected; where Leo is offers another picture of the same quality. You simply must exist in an environment where you are respected for your work — and the catch here is that your level of self-respect will be reflected in the environment around you. If you don’t believe me, try an experiment. Evaluate what happens when your self-respect is strong and functioning, and when it is not, and see if there is a difference in how you are treated.

There will be times when you have to communicate about this directly; and using the Law of Mars Retrograde, look inwardly for what you want; then state outwardly what you want. Your ability to do this is mingled with your ability to access your sense of self-worth. Mars retrograde is the time to get this energetic spine in alignment: desire >> intention >>В statement of intention >> achievement. This formula not only saves work; at the end of the whole process of doing anything, everyone comes around to this method, no matter where they start. So you might want to start with this formula.

If you’re born under the sign Pisces and not already on this wavelength of achievement, the moment for a reassessment has arrived. You have had plenty of experiences in recent years that have given you a sense of your potential, and enough motivation to want to make it real.

The hint from the 6th, and not a modest one, is that the places to take charge are your desk and your diet. Consider this a winter project: one directed toward taking over your life in seemingly small ways, then letting that energy expand into more tangible experiences of life. Your desk, you can think of as your entire work life and creative process.

Competition and Cooperation

You may feel that it’s not in your nature to be competitive. You may feel like leadership is too much responsibility. You feel you’re too sensitive to handle too much responsibility. None of this is true, unless you make it true, which would be akin to making it up.

Though you’re a Pisces, your chart has fire in all the handy places: Aries in your 2nd house (self-esteem and resources), Leo in your 6th house (work and wellbeing) and Sagittarius in your 10th house (reputation, profession, leadership).

The action aspects of your chart involve making contact with the energy of fire. That is different than the energy of water — as different as it gets. So part of your challenge is about maintaining the awareness of both passion and sensitivity, sustained in the long run. This will require you to know your own points of conflict, immaturity and most of all, the famous sense that Pisces is a victim. Before you dismiss the possibility that you are a victim, you might want to determine just what you think you’re a victim of. Then you can apply logic and test your theory and figure out how to get yourself to a better place.

In assessing why Pisces is perhaps less like its astrological picture than any other sign, we could look at human nature as much as we could study the nature of Pisces. Humans tend to be lazy. We only hunt when necessary and we are conditioned to respond like something meaningful is happening only in the midst of a crisis. How many times have you heard of the person who doesnвЂ™t get their life together until after the big car accident or their bout with cancer or when their long-term relationship splits up?

This is a good question — and you can answer it in the affirmative, in a time when things are going well for you; a time when disaster is not a necessary prerequisite to focusing your life.

Many factors, from Jupiter in Pisces to the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Aries, to the Chiron-Neptune alignment in Aquarius are saying that you can now become a master of cooperation. Yet you need to motivate people, and part of how you’re going to do that is focusing your desire, followed by focusing team spirit. Let your competitive edge teach you to strive for excellence, but remember there will be times you need to be competitive. You may have to achieve something first; you may have to go someplace to make your mark or stake your turf. This may be in the context of business or a relationship.

Comment About Saturn in Libra

Saturn is completing its transit across Virgo, your relationship house; it will be back for a while midyear, and then resume its journey across Libra for the next 30 months. For you this is a shift from your 7th to your 8th solar house, and we could call this a dynamic of cooperation.

Saturn in Libra is beautifully placed, and you have Libra in a vitally important corner of your solar chart: your shared resources angle. Saturn here is calling on you to honor the necessity of cooperation, in both individual and group partnerships.

By taking inner authority over yourself, you will have exceptionally strong influence in your relationships, which you do not have to push. You merely need to work with, work in service of, and recruit people to your cause. Without ‘appropriating’ the resources of others, you have a passport into the dimension where all resources on Earth exist as some form of shared resources, for the good of everyone. It will be up to you to make the case for the simple truth of this fact, often with people who have far more direct access to resources than you have.

Pisces as the Last Sign

Part of the nature of Pisces is that it’s the last sign. As Chiron arrives here, we who live under strong Pisces influence would be wise to consider this distinction, so I’m offering this thought as my closing commentary in the Cosmic Confidential horoscopes.

Pisces not only carries all the collective baggage of the human race; we carry all the potential; and we often live as if we’ve seen it all. That is a reminder to not be jaded or cynical and to remember that there is new potential in every moment of existence. In a sense you are like the counselor who has worked at the same summer camp for five years, and who must make it fun for every new group of campers.

The world seems torn between the desire for revolution and the sense of how pointless it is to make a real effort. The truth is somewhere in between, and your job is to hold out the middle ground — the very wide middle ground — and allow for some of the better possibilities to manifest.

You are likely to be feeling more optimistic than ever this year, though beneath that is your usual stalwart realism (of which the ‘dreamy’ quality of Pisces is often a defense mechanism). Chiron in Pisces is going to remind us that we have reached the end of one particular game, of one particular mode of existence, and that we must open the way for another.

When I say that this will be a spiritual solution, I don’t mean that in the sense of a non-human or peachy outcome; I mean that the usual notions of cause and effect need to be suspended in honor of a more visionary understanding of karma.

Pisces has an unusual connection to the larger cosmic picture, which is a reminder of how small the world is after all is said and done.

I am available to work during certain seasons. In all I do about 25 readings a year. It is best to stay in contact with me directly, or with my office (Chelsea usually handles this) and get on our list. I foresee being available again around when the Sun enters Pisces.

I suggest, till then, that you take advantage of my audio readings, which are a small gamble for $15 and the astonishing public reception they have received. Those are available off of our front page at http://planetwaves.net/

Dear Eric,
This makes even more sense to me in retrospect than it did when I first read it last year. I’m particularly resonating with the concept of focusing desire – it has become quite spooky recently how a desire in my mind has manifested almost immediately, and in exact detail. I’ve always felt myself in the past to be “too spiritual” for that, but actually now I feel empowered, focused and no “less” spiritual (as if that were even possible). Thank you, and looking forward to Light Bridge!
Lynsey xx